Record-bearing spindle for record-changers



April 14, 1970 L. THEVENAZ 3,505,273

RECORD-BEARING SPINDLE FOR RECORD-CHANGERS Filed March 10, 1967 L 00/5WEI/(EH02 ATTORNEY United States Patent US. Cl. 274- 2 Claims ABSTRACTOF THE DISCLOSURE A record-bearing spindle for an automaticrecordchanger, has at least three rigid arms for holding a stack ofrecords. The arms project through openings of the spindle, and areretracted into the spindle by a part sliding in the spindle to enablethe passage of a record. An elastic device is expandible for holding thenext record in the stack and is controlled by a sliding member in thespindle. The upper part of each arm is rectilinear and joined to thelower part through an inclined portion which can slide against the loweredge of a corresponding opening of the spindle to govern the radialdisplacement of the ends of the arms. A sensing strip projects through aslot in the spindle and yields to the dropping record, so signalling tothe record-changer mechanism if a record remains to be played.

This invention relates to a record-bearing spindle for automaticrecord-changers and more particularly to a vertical spindle of the typehaving retractable arms for dropping successive single records from astack on to a turntable.

Record-bearing spindles for automatic record-changers are already knownin which the spindles comprise at least three arms capable of occupyinga first position for supporting at least one record, in which positionthe arms project outside the spindle, and a second position in which thearms are retracted into the spindle to enable the dropping of the recordwhich rested previously on the said arms, the latter cooperating with asliding part in the spindle and of which the displacement govern thechange of the arms into one or other of their said positions, thespindle comprising also a device for holding the record located abovethat resting on said arms, this holding device being governed by asliding member located on the inside of the record-bearing spindle.

When the arms are rigid, the known constructions do not enable them tobe spread apart sufiiciently from the spindle to ensure a good seatingfor the lower record of the stack, and hence for the stack itself, andas the centre of gravity of commercial records often has a relativelylarge displacement with respect to the centre hole of the record, thestack of records frequently takes up an inclined position which preventsthe automatic recordchanger from functioning well.

To overcome this disadvantage, constructions have been provided in whichthe arms are sufirciently supple to be deformed, in order to enable themto lodge inside the' record-bearing spindle in their retracted positionwhilst "ice offering the possibility of a greater spreading of theirupper ends with respect to the record-bearing spindle in the holdingposition. There is thus obtained a greater distance between thesupporting points of the arms on the lower disc, and consequently abetter seating for the stack of records. On the other hand, the arms aremore delicate and may easily be deformed or damaged when the apparatusis handled with insufficient care. Furthermore, the operations ofmanufacture and assembly are more delicate than in the case of rigidarms.

An object of the present invention is to provide an improvedrecord-bearing spindle of the aforementioned type which overcomes thevarious drawbacks which have been considered above.

According to the invention, this record-bearing spindle is characterizedin that each arm is formed by a rigid element of which the upper part isrectilinear and intended to separate from the wall of the spindle in theholding position for the records and to come into a housed position inthe spindle substantially parallel to the axis of the latter when thearms are in retracted position, this upper part of each arm being joinedto the lower part through an inclined portion forming a ramp and beingsupported against the lower edge of the corresponding opening of thespindle to govern the radial displacements of the ends of the armsaccording to the axial displacement of the sliding part.

In order that the invention may be more clearly understood, oneembodiment of a record-bearing spindle according to the invention isdescribed below, purely by way of illustrative but non-limiting example,with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 shows in general manner an automatic recordchanger provided withsuch a record-bearing spindle.

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal section, on a larger scale, of therecord-bearing spindle according to the present invention, in the openposition of the arms.

FIG. 3 is a partial section of the spindle shown in FIG. 2, the armsbeing in their retracted position.

FIGS. 4a and 4b are sections along the line IVIV of FIG. 2, showing theupper part of the mechanism of the spindle forming a holding device intwo operating positions.

FIG. 5 is a section along the line V-V of FIG. 2.

With reference to FIG. 1, the record-changer comprises a base-plate 1carrying a record turntable 2 traversed by a record-bearing spindle 3.The latter has arms 4 of which the lower end is located in therecord-bearing spindle, while their outer ends are separated from thisspindle to support a stack 5 of records in reserve.

The record-changer has, of course, a pick-up arm 6 carrying a pick-uphead 7 and means, not shown, to cause the necessary movement, at the endof a record, to deflect the pick-up arm 6 from the turntable 2, toretain in position on the spindle 3 all the records of the reserve stack5, with the exception of the lower record of this stack, and to retractthe arms 4 to the interior of the spindle 3 to enable the lower recordof the stack 5 to fall on the turntable 2. Then, the arms 4 are restoredto the open position to support the stack 5 again, while the pick-up arm6 is displaced to position the head 7 at the beginning of the groove ofthe record which has been placed in position for playing.

The internal construction of the record-bearing spindle 3 is illustratedin detail in FIG. 2. This spindle is constituted by a tube 8 of whichthe upper end is covered by a cap 9. The tube 8 has three slots 10 andcontains three arms 11 extending through these slots. The lower end ofeach arm 11 is enlarged at 12 to be engaged in a seating provided in apart 13 sliding on the interior of the tube 8.

The arms 11, three in number in this embodiment, are held on the part 13by a spring constituted by a split sleeve 14 which surrounds the part 13and keeps the enlarged parts 12 of the arms in the seatings of this part13. This split sleeve 14 has the effect of urging the enlarged end 12towards the centre of the tube 8 and consequently to cause each arm 11to pivot in such manner that its upper end separates as far as possiblefrom the tube 8. Each arm is rigid and has two successive bends whichdivide it into three substantially straight portions. The centralportion 15 is supported against the lower edge of the slot 10 and limitsthe displacement of the arm 11 towards the exterior of the tube 8.

The part 13 is slidably mounted on the interior of the tube 8 and has atits lower end a groove 16 in which is engaged a lever 17 terminating ina fork and enabling control of the longitudinal sliding movements ofpart 13 on the interior of the tube 8.

The upper ends of the slot 10 of the tube 8 constitute three apertures18 with respect to which there is arranged, on the interior of therecord-bearing spindle, a rubber washer 19 gripped between two metallicwashers 20 and 21. The washer 20 rests on a part 22 engaged in the tube8 and being supported, by a terminal flange,

.against an annular shoulder 23 provided on the interior of the tube 8.The washer 21 may be displaced in the direction of the washer 20 by apull-rod 24 arranged on the interior of the tube 8 and passing throughlongitudinal holes of the part 22 and of the sliding part 13. The lowerend of this pull-rod 24 projects beyond the part 13 and carries two nuts25 enabling a lever 26 terminating in a fork to draw the pull-rod 24downwards.

The record-bearing spindle shown comprises also a feeler device tosignal to the mechanism of the record player the last of the reservestack of records to be played. This device is constituted by a metallicwire 27 projecting outside the tube 8 through an opening 28 of thelatter and extending to the bottom of the tube 8 by passing through alongitudinal groove provided at the periphery of the part 13. The lowerend of the wire 27 is curved at 29 and engaged in a bore of a sleeve 30sliding on the lower end of the part 13.

In the position represented in FIG. 2, the record-bearing spindle is inthe position for holding the reserve stack of records and a record 31 isrepresented by a broken line, positioned on the turntable 2 for playing,a record 32 resting on the arms 11 and a record 33 being positioned onthe record 32 of the stack 5.

When a record has to be changed, the lever 26, controlled by a mechanismnot shown, pulls the rod 24 downward, which squeezes the rubber washer19 between the metallic washers 20, 21. This washer 19 is deformed, asshown by FIGS. 4a and 4b, so that the parts 19a of this washer 19project through the apertures 18 and exert a pressure against the inneredge of the hole of the record 33.

The lever 17 then causes a downward displacement of the control part 13,which moves the arms 11 and causes them to retract into the interior ofthe tube 8 under the action of oblique part 15 bearing against the loweredge of each opening 10. At the end of the downward displacement of thepart 13, the arms occupy the position illustrated in FIG. 3, and therecord 32 can drop the length of the tube 8 to come to rest on therecord 31 positioned on the turntable 2.

Whilst the record is falling from the stack 5 onto the turntable 2, ithas pressed against the upper bent end of the strip 27 and urges thiswire downward, which produces a corresponding displacement of the sleeve30 which, in its turn, displaces a feeler member 34 of therecord-changer mechanism. During this downward movement, the inclinedpart of the wire 27 is urged against the lower edge of the hole 28,which retracts the wire 27 and allows free passage for the record.

The levers 17 and 26 then effect a movement in the opposite direction,which first of all restores the arms 11 to the position shown in FIG. 2,then releases the washer 19 which again takes up its initial form, thusrelaxing its pressure on the record 33. The latter slides on the tube 8until it rests on the end of the arms 11, carrying with it any otherrecords which may comprise the stack 5.

When the last record of the stack has been played, the record-changingmechanism is put into operation, but as no record can fall, the wire 27remains in position and the absence of displacement of the member 34indicates to the mechanism that all the records have been played andthat the apparatus can accordingly be stopped.

The embodiment which has been described is very advantageous, for itenables an excellent stability of the stack of reserve records to beachieved. Furthermore, the solidity of the spindle is hardly aitected bythe presence of three openings 18 enabling the rubber washer 19' toretain the stack in position during the placing of a record on theturntable 2.

I claim:

1. A record supporting spindle assembly for an automatic record changer,said spindle assembly including a tubular member having at least threeopenings therein, each opening having a bottom edge, and including atleast three arms capable of occupying a first position for supporting atleast one record, in which position said arms project beyond the tubularmember through said openings therein, and a second retracted position inwhich the arms are caused to move within said tubular member so as topermit downward movement of the record previously supported on saidarms, a member slidable in said tubular member having an upper end, saidarms pivotally mounted on the upper end of said member, thedisplacements of said member controlling the passage of the arms intoone of their said positions or the other, each said arm comprising arigid element having an upper and bottom portion, said upper portionbeing straight and is adapted to move outwardly from the wall of saidtubular member to a record holding position and to be moved inside ofthe tubular member substantially parallel to the axis thereof when thearms are in their retracted position, the upper portion of each armbeing connected to the bottom portion by means of an intermediateinclined section forming a ramp portion, said ramp bearing against thebottom edge of the related opening in said tubular member, there-byacting as a cam to control the radial displacements of the ends of thearms as a result of the axial displacement of the slidable member, saidspindle assembly including means for retaining a superposed recorddisposed on top of said record resting on said arms, a slidable rodactuating said retaining means and disposed within said tubular member,the bottom portion of each said arm having an enlarged portion engagedin the upper end of said slidable member to provide the pivotalmounting, spring means comprising a split sleeve also disposed withinsaid tubular member and surrounding and pressing against said slidablemember and said enlarged portions, and said split ring acts as a springto urge said enlarged portions inwardly and thereby pivot said upperportions outwardly through said openings.

2. A record supporting spindle assembly according to claim 1, whereinsaid retaining means is located within said tubular member and comprisesan element of resilient, deformable material arranged to be deformed soas to project from the tubular member and be urged against the wall ofthe central opening in said superposed record whereby at least one saidsuperposed record is supported during the retraction of the arms andsaid downward passage of a record to be played, said tubular memberhaving at least one aperture through which said element of resilientmaterial can project, a pair of spaced rigid elements within saidtubular member and between which said resilient element is positioned,the lowermost of said rigid elements being fixed and the uppermost ofsaid rigid elements being slidable, means on the upper end of saidslidable rod engaging said uppermost rigid element whereby downwardmovement of said slidable rod compresses said resilient element andurges it partly through said aperture against the opening in saidsuperposed record.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,288,471 11/1966 Weedfall.

3,083,022 3/1963 Hansen.

2,616,705 11/1952 Leonard.

LEONARD FORMAN, Primary Examiner S. L. STEPHAN, Assistant Examiner

